Shell and tube heat exchangers in the chemical and process industries
In the chemical and process industries, heat transfer is rarely the main event but almost always present: a reactor needs a defined temperature, a product has to cool before storage, condensate should give up its heat before returning to the network. Stainless steel throughout, welded ranges with no gasket between the media and a dismantlable version for solids make the shell and tube an obvious design for this.
Typical duties
Conditioning process circuits. Jacket circuits on reactors and vessels are heated or cooled through an intermediate circuit of water or glycol. The shell and tube heat exchanger sits between the intermediate circuit and the heating or cooling medium, for example saturated steam on one side and glycol on the other.
Separating product and cooling water. Where a product must not reach the cooling water, separation is what counts. In the welded ranges there is no gasket between the media, and the cooling water network keeps its pressure and its dirt on its own side.
Media with solids. Crystallising solutions, suspensions and products that form deposits belong in the fully dismantlable type. It can be opened; the thin coil tubes are cleaned by chemical flushing rather than by brush or lance. A strainer upstream of the unit takes care of occasional particles.
What matters in the sizing
Fluid properties decide. The configurator calculates water, glycol, oils and saturated steam with stored property data; for other process media our team needs density, heat capacity, viscosity and thermal conductivity at operating temperature. The more viscous the medium, the more its side governs the overall heat transfer - the comparison with the plate unit is in the guide shell and tube or plate heat exchanger.
Second point: temperature cycling. Start-up, shutdown and batch operation expand tube and shell differently. The tube coil absorbs this thermal expansion without the need for an expansion joint; how the design is built is explained in the guide shell and tube heat exchangers.
Limits, stated honestly
We do not assess the resistance of the stainless steel to your medium; that remains the task of your process engineers. The ranges are not supplied in materials other than stainless steel; for special materials and units built to your drawing, AWS-Technik GmbH as a whole is the right contact. Enter your operating point in the configurator: with one of the stored media it calculates online; for any other, choose “Other medium” and our engineers do the sizing.
Frequently asked questions
Which media does the configurator calculate?
Water, water-glycol, hydraulic and motor oil, and saturated steam. For other process media, choose “Other medium”, name the medium and, if available, its density, heat capacity, viscosity and thermal conductivity at operating temperature. The enquiry then goes to our engineers, who do the sizing.
Which material is in contact with the medium?
Shell, tube coil and nozzles are made of stainless steel 1.4307 or 1.4404. Whether the material resists your medium is for your process engineers to judge; we supply material certificates on request.
What about solids or fouling?
That is what the fully dismantlable type is for: it can be opened for flushing. For occasional particles, a strainer upstream of the unit is often enough. State solids in the “Application, particulars” field and our team selects the suitable version.
Request a sizing
Describe your application in the configurator - we will come back to you with an individual quote.